Christmas Viennese Whirls

I love these very short crumbly biscuits. Be sure to really chill before baking, as this will help with getting a lovely definition to the biscuit. Handle with great care. I pop mine on to the cooling racks upside down so I can pipe the fillings straight onto them. They will be perfect for any Christmas tea table or placed into pretty boxes and popped in a hamper.

250g unsalted butter, softened

50g icing sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

250g plain flour

50g cornflour

1 tsp mixed spice

For the fillings

200g icing sugar

100g very soft unsalted butter

zest of an orange

50g chopped dried cranberries/raisins soaked for at least half an hour in the juice of the orange.

2 heaped tbsp mincemeat, heat in the micro and mash with a fork, then leave to cool.

You will also need 2 baking sheets lined with baking parchment and a piping bag fitted with a medium star nozzle.

Preheat the oven to 170c/325f/Gas mark 3

Tip the butter and sugar into the bowl of a food processor and beat until pale and light. Add the vanilla extract and mix again. Sift the flour, mixed spice and cornflour into the bowl and mix until smooth and thoroughly combined.

Spoon the dough into a piping bag fitted with a medium star nozzle and pipe small stars onto the prepared baking sheets. Bake on the middle shelf of the preheated oven for 10-15 minutes until pale golden.

Remove from the oven and cool on the baking sheets for 5 minutes. Transfer the cookies to a wire rack until completely cold.

Whip the icing sugar and butter together until pale and creamy. Spoon half of the buttercream into a different bowl, to the first bowl add the orange zest and a tbsp of the orange juice and the chopped, soaked fruits, mix together, spoon into a pipping bag and pipe stars onto a quarter of the biscuits, sandwich together with another quarter.

With the 2nd half of the buttercream fold in the mincemeat and fill the other half of the biscuits.